Dental Health Week (DHW) is the Australian Dental Association’s (ADA) major annual oral health campaign. It takes place each year in the first full week of August. The campaign focuses on the importance of taking steps to care for your teeth and gums to help you keep your teeth and smile for life.
This year, DHW is focusing on the mouth and whole-body connection. There are links between diseases in the mouth and diseases in the body. Bacteria in the mouth can travel to different sites of the body and inflammation in the mouth can increase the body’s overall inflammation. Six conditions have been explored in how they link with the mouth:
Heart Disease
Diabetes
Alzheimer’s Disease
Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes
Lung Conditions
Inflammatory Bowel Disease
The ADA’s main oral health messages and the four key messages of the DHW campaign aim to reinforce the importance of maintaining good oral health and to keep your teeth for life.
It should not be normal to expect that you will need to have some teeth removed because of tooth decay or gum disease. After all, you do not expect to lose an arm or leg, so why expect to lose any of your teeth? Australians should aim to keep their teeth for their lifetime. There are multiple ways to get information about oral health during Dental Health Week. If you have not had a recent visit to the dentist, it is a great time to make an appointment. A visit to your dentist for face-to-face advice is the best way to get your questions answered. If you are looking for information, click through the teeth.org.au website to find trustworthy and up-to-date oral health advice written by dentists from around Australia.
